30 Minutes ago in Washington, D.C. House Passes Massive Defense Bill, Senate Next
The House of Representatives has officially passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a decisive 312-112 vote, authorizing a historic $901 billion budget for the War Department. This legislative victory came after a high-stakes procedural standoff where key Republicans, including Anna Paulina Luna, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tim Burchett, and Lauren Boebert, ultimately shifted their positions to support the measure. The bill, a consolidation of House and Senate versions, is now moving toward the Senate for rapid approval before reaching President Donald Trump for his final signature. Speaker Mike Johnson characterized the bill as a win for military readiness and conservative reform, pointing to a 4 percent pay raise for enlisted personnel and the total removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the military framework.
However, the path to passage was not without internal friction. Hardline conservatives expressed frustration over the inclusion of $400 million in recurring annual funding for Ukraine. Additionally, the final text omitted a ban on the Federal Reserve creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a provision heavily supported by Jim Jordan to protect financial privacy.
The legislation also curtails executive power by forbidding the President from reducing troop counts in Europe or South Korea and prohibiting any pauses on lethal aid to Ukraine. In a move toward institutional transparency, the bill mandates that the FBI disclose investigations into federal candidates and restricts the travel budget of War Secretary Pete Hegseth until certain strike footage near Venezuela is released.
National security regarding China remains a focal point of the legislation. The NDAA empowers the Treasury Department to screen and potentially block U. S.
investments in high-risk Chinese technologies. It also bans the Pentagon from acquiring biotechnology or critical minerals from foreign entities of concern, specifically targeting China. To bolster global oversight, the State Department will station Regional China Officers to track the Belt and Road Initiative.
Finally, the bill addresses historical military mandates by repealing the 1992 and 2002 authorizations for the Iraq war. However, social compromises were evident, as the final draft excluded in vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage for military families and refrained from preempting state-level artificial intelligence regulations, reflecting the delicate political balancing act required in a divided chamber.
